Tips for incoming UNTHSC Chinese students obtaining
a visa
Congratulations! Now you may have been admitted by UNTHSC and are preparing
your upcoming American trip, so obtaining a visa is required if you want to come to
the US and start your study. Here are my and my friends' processes of the visa
application, and I hope it's helpful for you.
Before all of the contents you will be reading, first I should explain what a valid visa
is and what is a visa interview. A visa is the certificate for you to come to or leave the
US which is valid for only one year. However, if your visa becomes invalid just
because of the coming expiration day, you can still stay in the US and don't need to
come back to China for a new visa. A new visa will be only required if you want to
come to the US after the expiration day.
A visa interview is the process that you make an interview with the visa officer and
get the visa. The visa application result will be informed immediately after the
interview. So being well prepared can help you obtain the visa easily.
There are five consulates in China, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and
Shenyang. Please contact them for more details if you have any questions.
Make an appointment for a visa interview
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Buy a 12 minutes phone card from China Citic Bank; you can buy it online by
using debit/credit card.
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Call 4008－872－333 or 86-21-3881-4611 and make an appointment with the
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consulate. You may be required to provide following information: your Chinese
full name, passport number, date of birth, Chinese resident ID number, valid
phone number and type of visa you want to apply.
Talk with the customer service and get the appointment number, you can select
the date and time of the interview. Make sure you have written down all the
information.
Complete the SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) form
and pay the SEVIS fee. The website is https://www.fmjfee.com/i901fee/. After
completed, please print the receipt.
Pay the visa application fee at China Citic Bank, and keep the application fee
receipt.
Complete DS-160 form. The website is https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/ . You are
required to update your passport photo when completing the form. After
completed, please also print the receipt and make sure there is a barcode on your
receipt. The DS-160 form is very important, so please fill the form carefully.
Make an interview with the visa officer
This is a check list for you to present
 All the receipts (SEVIS fee, visa application fee and DS-160)
 Passport and two or three passport photos
 I-20 form (be sure you sign it)
 Admission letter
 Transcripts, including GRE and TOEFL
 All the materials of your future study plan in the US (school program induction,
study and career plan, advisor's resume, etc.).
 All the materials of your financial support and family information.
 Any other materials you think necessary.
After passing through the security checks in the consulate, you will wait to meet the
visa officer. Stay calm and don't be nervous. When the visa officer ask you questions,
speak slowly, and clearly, look directly into the eyes of the visa officer and do not
interrupt when he/she is still speaking. You should prepare and practice the visa
interview with others in advance.
The result will be told immediately after the interview, but sometimes your visa
application may have to pass a review in Washington D.C due to your study field. It's
called "check" in China and will delay your application process. Please keep in touch
with the consulate officers, as they may need you to provide supplementary materials.
You may receive your passport 2 or 3 days after visa interview if you pass the
application, make sure all the information on the visa is correct. However, if chosen
for the “check” it can delay the visa by 3-6 weeks or longer, so plan your visa
appointment early!
Other tips
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Chat with other visa applicants when waiting for the interview, this may relax
yourself.
Dress professionally.
Smile and be confident.
If your application is rejected, don't be upset; just make a new appointment for
the visa.
You can find more details on these two websites: http://bbs.gter.net/bbs/index.php
and http://www.taisha.org/bbs/